Pakistan confirmed its first wild polio virus case of 2026 in a four-year-old child from Bello Union Council in Sujawal district of Sindh province. The case was identified through the polio surveillance network and confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where Wild Poliovirus remains endemic. Polio workers in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, have faced frequent attacks. During the initial polio campaign in 2026, approximately a million children were not vaccinated, with 53,000 refusals reported. Karachi had the highest share of refusals at 58%.
Over 44.3 million children in Pakistan received polio drops during the campaign, achieving a household coverage of 98%. However, around 0.95 million children were reported as missed, with a significant number not present at home during vaccination. Security constraints, community boycotts, and snow-bound areas left 233,000 children unvaccinated.
The polio eradication campaign faced challenges in areas like Mastung, Gwadar, Chagai, and Awaran in Balochistan due to security concerns. Refusals accounted for 0.14% of the total targeted children, with Karachi reporting the highest number at 31,000. Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan administered polio drops to millions of children during the campaign.
